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A Fitness Blog about Gym Training, Sport Fashion, Healthy Nutrition and Active Travel – By Faya NilssonWed, 23 May 2018 17:27:13 +0000en-GBhourly1WELLNESS ESCAPE TO BORDEAUX WITH CAUDALIEhttp://fitnessontoast.com/2018/05/21/wellness-escape-bordeaux-caudalie-travel/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/05/21/wellness-escape-bordeaux-caudalie-travel/#commentsMon, 21 May 2018 08:08:44 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18758Les Sources de Caudalie is one of those rare hotels to enjoy the mysterious ‘Palace’ designation – a hyper-prestigious mark of distinction bestowed upon just 24 hotels, all of which are in France. Unclear as to what it officially means, to me it represents an endorsement that an operation has proven itself a practitioner of […]

Les Sources de Caudalie is one of those rare hotels to enjoy the mysterious ‘Palace’ designation – a hyper-prestigious mark of distinction bestowed upon just 24 hotels, all of which are in France. Unclear as to what it officially means, to me it represents an endorsement that an operation has proven itself a practitioner of the finest haut hospitalité that the French call their Art de Vivre. Whilst the hotel itself is really quite special, there were two other major components to the site which rendered my stay here totally memorable and unique; the world-class ‘Grand Cru appellation’ vineyard on site, and the shrine to the French beauty house Caudalie, itself stemming from the vines. When choosing a place to stay, one must select the appropriate property for the geography; Les Sources de Caudalie masterfully bottles the essence of this region into one exceptional package. For a wellness escape to Bordeaux, it is a sublime choice, and this post reveals the magical experience I found there!

You might be a bit confused at this point? Perhaps you’ve encountered the beauty brand, Caudalie and noticed it featuring prominently in the name of this hotel? Caudalie beauty’s existence is entwined in a sort of symbiotic triumvirate of the vineyard, the hotel and the beauty brand. The family who own Château Smith Haut Lafitte (the reputed Bordeaux institution decorated with 100 points by Robert Parker for their 2009 opus major vintage – wine buffs will know this to be a big deal) started Caudalie beauty some 20 years ago, as a corollary of scientific research into the very grapes which bestow life-preserving properties to their wines. The findings postulated that the chemical substances called ‘polyphenols’ contained within the grapes’ pips were rich in specific amino acids and antioxidants, which are known to have beneficial applications in skincare.

Blessed with hundreds of hectares of vineyards occupying the favourable south side of the Garonne river, an ultra fertile clay/limestone soil, an aspect benefitting from lashings of sunshine, gentle winds and cool nights, plus plenty of natural irrigation, the Château has a surplus of polyphenols (i.e. grapes) some of which following the harvest, will never make it into their finest bottles. They have other uses of these premium products of natural origin (no pesticides or additives are permitted by the domaine, so everything is organic); hence the birth of the beauty products!

From this natural background, the hotel has sprung up, partly as a way to further commercialise the activities of the vineyard, but also to encourage and cater for the truly fascinating category of wine tourism (we’ll touch upon that a bit later!) and to provide a shrine, by way of a spa, at which to exhibit Caudalie’s essence. Unsurprisingly, those are the products you find in your room, along with a bottle of Les Hauts de Smith to welcome you.

My preference is always to approach a trip from a wellness perspective and this Bordeaux excursion was indeed no different. So, straight in then…

THE SPA!

As mentioned, the Caudalie brand was created at family owned Château Smith Haut Lafitte, from the discovery of a method by which to use active polyphenol components found in grape pips.

Their spa harnasses the naturally warm spring water which comes from 540 meters down, and is rich in minerals and oligo-elements. You can either take a swim in the indoor or outdoor pool, rest in the traditional hot tub, or sweat it out in the hamam. A cycle of all 3 is favourable!

Stepping into the 1,500 square meter spa you’ll be greeted by an airy space, high vaulted ceilings decorated by restored old wooden beams. It’s a wonderfully restorative yet energising atmosphere. With windows on every wall you’ll always have a view looking out onto either the endless vineyards, the outdoor pool, the organic farm or Chateau Smith Haut Lafite. It’s incredible looking out onto the vineyards knowing that the products you’re using in the spa contain natural ingredients which come directly from those fields.

Treatments-wise, there’s a generous menu from which to choose. I opted for the signature Honey & Wine Wrap and the signature facial, using only Caudalie products. The Caudalie products use grape, red wine and essential oil extracts in their treatments, and these ingredients are said to help reduce tissue swelling by draining and boost circulation.

I’d never had a simultaneous ‘scrub and massage’ before and I absolutely loved it. The therapists used the Crushed Cabernet scrub, which included all natural ingredients such as olive oil, sugar and grapes. After scrubbing both the front and the back of the body for a good 10 minutes you’re wrapped up in a cocoon for five minutes in order for the oils to really soak into your body. Once that’s done you jump into a quick shower (no soap allowed) and are laid back down for a massage. I can’t tell you how incredibly soft, supple and hydrated my skin was afterwards; it was quite remarkable. I would highly recommend this treatment and scrub if you get the chance to visit.

Product-wise, Cauadalie say ‘no’ to parabens and stay committed to using the highest proportion of natural ingredients as possible, which is a preference I respect and associate with. The brand is environmentally conscious too, as they’re part of the ‘1% for the planet’, movement which donates 1% of its global sales to NPOs that work to protect the environment. So by 2020 6 million trees will be planted around the world

ORGANIC VEGETABLE GARDEN & FARM

The vegetable garden was one of my favourite parts of Les Sources de Caudalie. You’ll find most things you’d expect in a vegetable shop – lettuce, artichokes, spinach, herbs, edible flowers – all used on a daily basis in the kitchens of the property. There are also fifteen hens producing eggs that you may have for breakfast the following morning. Theres also an adorable dwarf goat family who help protect the hens from foxes. Not to mention the rich ecosystem of bird families that call this sanctuary their home too. Nature and an appreciation of the natural world is so closely intertwined with respectful wine production that it is an integral component of this hotel too, which I loved.

FITNESS

There’s a small but high-spec gym on site with a set of dumbbells a couple of Technogym Personal-line machines and treadmills and of course you can always go for a few laps in any of the pools, indoors or outdoors. There are also personal trainers on site. If you let the staff know they’ll make sure to book one in for you. The gym is small but enough for an indoor workout when you need to lift something heavy

There’s also a tennis court to burn off any extra wine-based caloric energy you may have consumed…

BICYCLE, OR GO FOR A RUN

If you don’t fancy going for a swim or running on the treadmill, the hotel has an array of bikes along with routes through the beautiful forests and vineyards for you to venture on. I went cycling and running on a few of the routes and they provide some serious fitness motivation, as well as some stunning scenes and scents. The spring air of an awakening forest is quite intoxicating, and hugely invigorating.

THEIR VINEYARDS

There are hundreds of acres of vines, in their seasonal infancy at my time of visiting and which are constantly ploughed, tilled and cultivated by donkeys and ground staff alike. These eventually bear a fruit which will go on to constitute the 2018 vintage of Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Just 100m away from the hotel, the vineyard runs tours, which I only too happily joined for an immersion into the world of great growths. The impression I took away is one of dedicated and skilled craftsmanship, and significant hidden toil that goes into bringing superior bottles to the tables of oenophiles the world over. You tour the cooperage where 6-year aged French Oak is hewn and tied into the barrels which will eventually age their grapes, visit the fermentation vats, the harvest zones, the deep underground production facilities and barrel storage hanger (an obscenely serene and cavernous underground space where I felt quite at peace), the vines, and a tasting extravaganza of some of the reputed vintages.

THE GASTRONOMIC RESTAURANT

La Grand’Vigne is the hotel’s gastronomic destination of some considerable repute, having earned two coveted Michelin Stars – a rating which deems it to have excellent cooking that is ‘worth a detour’. They note that “in this 18C orangery, the dishes have the taste and the colours of nature: they are the work of an inspired chef, Nicolas Masse, a master in the art of associating flavours and textures with remarkable precision to appeal to the senses.” As the days passed, I observed that many of the ingredients are sourced fresh from the multiple gardens that the kitchen staff cultivate around the vineyard (along with a hen house and beehives), rendering the produce unusually fresh, and benefitting from the same terroir that gives life to some of the worlds finest vines. This is a light, gentle journey of a meal which eschews the heavy, butter-dependent grandstanding of many ‘gourmet’ destinations. It is about freshness and nature, from ocean to vine, and therefore mirrors the region itself, given its economic interdependence with the lands. N.B, the lemon tart is quite exceptional in its inventive re-imagination!

I would add that the hotel’s non-gourmet restaurant, La Table du Lavoir, is supreme, being bathed in golden light which streams in through the french windows, and enjoying a homely, cottage-like feel. Once an 18th Century washroom, there is still a huge period fireplace and a stunning vaulted old ceiling wrought from reclaimed Medoc timber. Oak barrels, once used for ageing wine, make for storage tables, and the wall of noise is punctuated by the chirping of birdsong with sparrows dancing about in the eaves above you (this is never threatening, and they are quite house-trained!). You have the feeling of being in someone’s country kitchen, and a peaceful, authentic tranquility. It might perhaps sound somewhat of a gimmick but it’s not; this is a gem of authentic Bordeaux history!

ROOMS

Depending on where you stay within the property, the rooms are housed as cottages, scattered around the hotel complex; I was in the Fisherman’s Village, which is a collection of 12 suites, though there are a further 9 suites and 40 rooms. They’re appointed in country-chic fashion, and of a quality commensurate with the Palace rating,. There’s vine detailing on the wallpaper and you find a bottle of their ‘Les Hats de Smith’ awaiting you on the table. The cosmetics are all, unsurprisingly, Caudalie, and the space homely, comforting, and a good, secluded space into which to withdraw at the end of each day. I found no trouble switching off and sleeping deeply and uninterruptedly here.

OTHER EPIC THINGS TO DO?

Go Visit Cognac! The region lies just north of Bordeaux, and is world-renowned for the production of superior brandy, known under the controlled appellation of ‘Cognac’. I had booked a tour at the historic Château of Remy Martin, where I undertook the remarkable Louis XIII tour over 3 hours. My exceptional guide led me through several hundreds of years of history, from the origins of the Baccarat crystal decanter to the distilling chambers, and culminating at the 200-year-old barrels housing thousands of eaux-de-vie, which I sampled with awe (I couldn’t photograph that room, the air is filled with explosive alcohol vapour!). This was an educational and cultural indulgence, and I loved every minute of it.

Visit the Wine Museum! In Bordeaux, there exists the most well-invested, high-tech exhibition space I’ve ever encountered, called La Cite du Vin. The sole topic for this vast multi-storey shrine, is wine; it’s history, it’s significance in culture and civilisations both ancient and current, its development, its regional differences, its cultivation, its future and its economic significance. Simply fascinating. I spent 3 hours here, but could have easily managed double that, were I to have planned the time in accordingly. That may sound crazy, but this is an exceptional space, with so much depth if you’ve a curious mind!

Dessert! As an advocate of balance and occasional indulgence, there is a permanent place in my heart for dessert. Dessert wine, too, has a place. In the Sauternes classification (and in fact, beyond), there is no peer to Château D’Yquem. Now owned by LVMH, I visited their historic castle grounds and walked through the production process, inspected the vines and storage vaults, learned some detail about the Noble Rot rendering their precious semillion grape sweet and mould-gnarled, and of course, imbibed some of the heavenly nectar itself; pure mead.

THE CONCLUSION…

Upon returning to London I felt a real calm, one I think you only get from having spent time in the countryside, with less frenetic ‘city’ energy weighing down your consciousness, and therefore able to truly ‘switch off’. But what rendered Les Sources de Caudalie unique, I believe, came from a most remarkable mixture of the cuisine, the wellness, the fresh air, the stillness and what you could legitimately call ‘joie de vivre’, which makes it the perfect place to reset, feel inspired, and return home more motivated than before, having experienced some of the most idiosyncratically French culture that the country can expouse. I absolutely loved it and would recommend it with vigor!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/05/21/wellness-escape-bordeaux-caudalie-travel/feed/3WORLD CUP DRESSAGE – A POTENT WORKOUT !http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/26/world-cup-dressage-a-potent-workout/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/26/world-cup-dressage-a-potent-workout/#commentsThu, 26 Apr 2018 05:11:41 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18735I recently had the good fortune to attend the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Paris – which was RIGHT up my street! My formative years were spent living on a farm in the rural south of Sweden, and as a young child (then into my teens) I was […]

I recently had the good fortune to attend the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Paris – which was RIGHT up my street! My formative years were spent living on a farm in the rural south of Sweden, and as a young child (then into my teens) I was a so-called ‘stable girl’, as my friends and I would spend all of our free time in the stables, combing the horses hair, cleaning their boxes and of course riding freely across the rolling fields. My walls were plastered with pictures of ponies – alongside the occasional Mariah Carey and kitten poster. Back in Paris, the FEI World Cup event is the pinnacle of equestrian competitions, their ‘Wimbledon’ or ‘America’s Cup’ equivalent if you like, so it was a real honor to have been invited the 10-year-old girl in me was overjoyed; watching the most decorated equestrian athlete of all time, Isabell Werth, dispatch a masterclass was a thing of beauty! This post is a behind-the-scenes account of the weekend, along with interviews with three riders, who reveal just how much of a physically and mentally demanding discipline this is. Click MORE to take a look at the fitness angle of world-class Horse Riding…

PREAMBLE:

Now, I realise that not everyone has ridden a horse, and I’ve encountered the misconception surrounding the sport, that horse riding is ‘easy’ and female-oriented. I would challenge any seasoned gym-goer to mount one of these huge beasts and control its power – it takes more than just brute strength, but also technique and the ability to communicate more subtly with the horse. It’s a ‘new’ meta-language that bridges the communication gap between human and animal. Once you’re able to ‘converse’ with your horse, you work as a team. The partnerships these world-class riders have with their horses is truly fascinating – it represents mutual respect, understanding and unconstrained drive to accomplish victory and be the best.

In an age of virtual reality, smartphones and social media, with most of our hours spent indoors, horse riding is more relevant that ever before, as a reactionary and liberating escape into nature. Getting on a wild animal and riding outdoors delivers a thrill unlike anything else. It’s a great way to truly switch off and be present.

BACKGROUND INTO THIS ANCIENT SPORT

The roots go deeper than almost any other sport which comes to mind. Renaissance Europe is the birthplace of the modern classical equitation (riding in harmony with the horse), though scientific and artisitic accounts of horse riding date back to about the 4th century B.C. with Xenophon, the masterful Greek general, whos treatises On Horsemanship show the concept of Parade Horses, and how to care for them. The Hittite civilisation, over a thousand years before even that, were participating too.

More recently, horses were the mainstay of the medieval battlefield, with an obedient and well-trained cavalry horse making the difference between life and death. They were trained in kicks, leaps and tears, to counteract any footsoldiers who were too close when the knight had been un-horsed. By the Victorian era, riding was a fully-fledged art; times have changed again, but today’s Dressage discipline still makes use of the ceremonial movements practised by the Ancient Greeks and the Medieval Knights – piaffe, passage, the half-pass and the pirouette.

The word Dressage originates from the French word dresser, which in this context, pertains to training or dressing a horse. It’s a super-organised discipline with strict etiquette, perhaps stemming from military heritage. Riders enter the 20 x 60m arena and perform a suite of manouevres with increasing levels of difficulty; they’re marked on their execution of these ‘tests’, as well as their horse’s gait, submission, impulsion and the rider performance. From what I can tell, the performance has to look gentle, quiet, harmonious, supple, loose, confident and attentive, all at once!

But don’t take my word for it; here follows an account of my discussions with three celebrated equestrians; Ellesse Jordan Tzinberg, Carl Hedin, and Mattia Harnacke.

EJT: I started off as a show jumper but about three years ago I really committed to Dressage – it’s always something that I’ve done especially in Asia, you only have so many shows that you can do a year and so if you only do one it’s quite limiting to your opportunities. So I’d always done both and been pretty good at both, and then three years ago I wanted to fully commit to one. I’d never been in a program for Dressage so I wanted to at least try it, so I could say I tried it, it failed!

F.O.T: Have you ever been interested in any other types of sports?

EJT: I used to play basketball quite a lot, both in college and high school. We have university sports in America but then you also have intercollegiate, which is not as competitive as NCA but it’s still quite competitive. So I played basketball a lot, and also was into fitness. I box a lot still. I’ve been boxing since I was really young so it’s something that’s always been in me. If I was younger maybe I would’ve committed to that instead of riding but it’s something that’s also been a big, big part of me.

F.O.T: What sort of sport specific fitness training do you do to complement your riding pursuits?

EJT: For Dressage, I love Pilates and I think it’s really great for all riders. Yoga is, of course really great for riders but I know that maybe not all riders like the pace of yoga. It’s quite slow, and we work with horses so we tend to like fast pace. For me Pilates is a bit more mentally my pace, I do that a lot and that really helps with posture. Dressage is so much about the core working, and so much so that you don’t really want to be seen moving very greatly, everything is about very minuscule movements – very strong small movements so Pilates in my experience really trains those muscles. Then I always thought boxing was great for all riders just because you’re using your entire body, you’re using you balance, you’re using coordination, hand eye coordination, speed, controlled movement, and there’s a lot of rhythm. You have to stick with the rhythm and there’s a lot of combinations – it’s the same with riding where you always have a rhythm whether your jumping or sound Dressage, you have a rhythm that you keep to and you don’t want to break that constant rhythm. It’s quite musical as well.

F.O.T: Why do you love yoga so much?

EJT: As riders we’re in the same position for hours each day. A lot of riders aren’t very flexible. They get quite used to using the same muscles every day, all day. And we sit in that same position. You talk to a rider and most of the time it’s always like their hamstrings and hip flexors are super tight as well as lower back. I like slower, more meditative yoga, as it also works on opening the hips up. It calls for a lot of mental strength too and the same goes for riding – mental patience, and mental strength. Yoga is practical for that.

F.O.T: How do you structure your training week?

EJT: A lot of professionals ride five-to-eight hours a day so that’s quite draining. It varies depending on the horse but normally you’d ride one horse for 30 minutes to an hour. Some days, you do end up really exhausted. You and the horse will always have a day off so I think it’s really essential to do something that’s going to change which muscles you’re using, to do something else with your body. Then I think it’s really important even if you’re riding 8 hours a day, to take care of your body so you’re training those other muscles that support the muscles you use whilst riding. So whether you do some plank work or core exercises, stretches, I think any little bit helps.

F.O.T: A lot of people who’ve never ridden may not realise the immense amount of strength required for horse riding…

EJT: I can definitely tell when I ride more horses or not. It does take a lot of strength, they’re such giant animals first of all; also, of course you immediately think you have to be so strong to handle these big animals but also because I’m like 56/57 kilos I’m never going to match up to a horse head to head so you have to find ways to use your muscles in a more practical way and being able to have your core strength and being able to be quick and hold, let go very fast… so it’s about being able to use what we have most efficiently also.

F.O.T: What do you do to really chill out and recover from training?

EJT: Massage!!! In Wellington which is where I live in Florida, I’m very lucky that there’s a wonderful massage lady there who I try and see every week. I think it’s so important for your body. Also someone with that profession feel things that you don’t know. They might notice that your hip flexor or spine is a bit crooked, so you need to have that expertise. Besides, getting a massage is just really relaxing too!

F.O.T: In terms of nutrition, so you want to stick to a certain weight?

EJT: For the benefit of the horse, it’s nicer to be a lighter rider. I also think that there are some riders who are light but they ride very heavy, and there are some riders who are a little heavier but they ride very light. Of course you want to be your fittest self whatever weight that may be – the fitter you are the better you are for your horse I think. I know that for the jumpers, it’s a little more essential for them to be lighter. For me, when I first got the horse that I have right now, I felt very weak compared to him because he’s a bit of a different ride. So for me I focussed a lot on getting strong in creating parts of my body – like my core, being able to have good balance whilst still being able to use my core and my upper body. It really varies on the type of horse and it’s personality.

F.O.T: I’m Swedish; I know you spent some time there too…

EJT: Yes! I lived in Skåne for two years, and that’s where I moved to from California, but it was a huge culture shock. One winter there and I thought ‘I need to find somewhere else warmer’ and that’s why I went to Florida – warmest place to do it! I moved there and that’s where I really immersed myself in Dressage. The horse I have now is from Sweden it’s from a Swedish rider. I still have a special place in my heart for Sweden.

F.O.T: Is there a benefit between switching horse?

EJT: I think so because really the horses are just so different. Personally if I look at the Grand Prix horse I have now, compared to my last one, they are completely different rides. The last one was very nice in the sense that he was so soft and light, I really didn’t have to be very physically strong, however I had to be a little bit stronger in my legs and I had to ride him in a more forward aggressive way. Whereas with this one I have to be very strong to control his energy. His energy is already there, so it benefits me to be able to swap from different horses and be able to change in that situation or adjust the way your style is.

F.O.T: What would you say makes Dressage so special?

EJT: I think as far as fitness goes, it’s an amazing workout. I’ve had friends who are huge fitness buffs, soccer players, tennis players, and when they’ve gotten on a horse, the next day they literally can’t walk. So it’s definitely a great workout in terms of strength, but I also think it’s so special compared to other sports because it’s really the only Olympic sport where you work with an animal, so that brings this whole other element to it. You’re not only training yourself you’re training a horse and then you’re training yourselves together. I’d say if you like mental games and mental sports it’s definitely one of them but from a little bit of a different aspect.

I have my own horse with whom I compete and then I work for a show jumping rider and I train his horses in Dressage. A lot of jumpers will tell me ‘oh you still go to the gym but you do dressage’ – they think it’s so much more of a physically intense discipline. You do have to be enormously strong to compete in Dressage.

CH: I started riding at riding school, when I was 7 years old in Sweden. I’m not from a horse background. My parents have always been very clear though, this is my passion, they’ve always supported me, and said that it was my ‘thing’. At first at riding school I just wanted to be like a cowboy riding out in the woods and doing three day eventing and all of that. So I started off doing eventing and then when I was 16, I realised I wasn’t any good to be honest! I was always very good in Dressage though – I’ve always been a perfectionist and I loved training with horses, and understanding how you can teach them, and just the whole behavioural aspect of riding really. Then when I was 16 I did some two star shows at eventing and hadn’t really caught a break for eventing so then I said to my Mum, ‘I think I want to do Dressage full time’, because somehow whatever horse I would get on, whether it would be an Irish pony or anything, it would just end up as a Dressage horse so I thought ‘why fight against it, just go for it’. That’s when and how I started Dressage!

F.O.T: What goes in to training a horse?

CH: I think there’s different aspects of that. The easiest way I would divide it up is into three parts. You have the rider and the horse as two singular units, and then you have the partnership between those two. These three aspects all need to collaborate in order for it to just work. So if you have a really good rider but not such a good horse, that won’t be a fit and you can have a really good horse but not such a talented rider that wouldn’t work either. Sometimes you might have a good horse and a good rider but it s still not working because you don’t have the chemistry, and the third factor isn’t really there. I think those are really the three aspects you need to look at.

F.O.T: You mentioned ‘the behavioural aspect’ – what do you mean by that?

CH: I think it’s important that when we work with live animals, that we can never expect animals to understand our language. Instead, we can just try to adapt to their way of communicating with each other. Therefore I think it’s amazing – it’s a new language that you understand little by little, how to read a horse, and how you build that trust and relationship, for you both to do these amazing things.

F.O.T: Have you always been an animal person?

CH: Yes, absolutely! I can do all the lines from National Geographic, I’ve always been so into animals since I was really really young. It falls naturally for me to work with horses.

F.O.T: Can you read the horse emotions, for instance can you tell if and when your horse really enjoyed a ride together?

CH: Yes I think that’s a very important part of being a professional rider, and to work with horses – you can always try to understand what’s going on in their minds, or you won’t have that third aspect of the ‘partnership’.

F.O.T: In terms of training, what do you do in the lead-up to competition?

CH: It starts from the age of three really, when the horse is very very young, and you start with very easy exercises. Just to carry a saddle for a horse is very unnatural, so that takes quite a long time. The horses that we see her at the FEI World Cup finals will have been training for maybe ten years. In the short period of time before a competition I’d say that most horses will have been training almost everyday that can vary a little bit in terms of how they’ve been trained.

F.O.T: What does the training look for a rider like yourself?

CH: It varies a lot. I work professionally with horses so that means I’ll be riding from 8 o’clock in the morning until like one o’clock in the afternoon, non-stop more or less. So that is serious training in itself. Then there’s the fact that you have to work hard to be a top athlete; you have to work with strength, conditioning and stamina. So yes we do train a lot. I’ve been running a few marathons myself! My best time is 3.26 I think that’s pretty good. I think a lot of riders nowadays take their own physical health into consideration because there’s a long career. Maybe it’s not vital that you are in top shape just for your single performance, but it matters in the long run because you have to be able to go to the stables everyday and stay fit and healthy.

F.O.T: What are the most common injuries would you say?

CH: Back and hip injuries are the big ones, but also knees – especially for show jumping because they are standing up a bit more in the saddle so they tend to ruin their knees if they’re not careful.

F.O.T: What do you do to relax and ensure you get the best recovery?

CH: I think that’s a weak point for the equestrian community – we’re very good at taking care of our horses, having all kind of treatments and therapies and physios and all of that but we are not so good at looking after ourselves: that’s an area that can and should be improved.

F.O.T: Nutrition wise do you follow any particular diets or ways of eating?

CH: I have for periods of times been quite strict with my diet but right now I think that, I wouldn’t say it has so much to do with my equestrian career but my general life wellbeing. I do look after myself, and try to watch what I’m eating and be careful of what I do. I think that’s also something that can be improved. I like to be aware consumer of meat so I like to know what I eat and where it comes from, and I pick my days. I rarely buy my meat for my own household but if I go out to a nice restaurant and I can ask where the meat comes from. I try not to eat as much meat because I don’t think there are that many benefit to it.

F.O.T: For anyone who may be considering riding, what would be your main reasons for giving it a go?

CH: I think that riding is the most wonderful sport! In a modern day society, we have all the virtual realities and social media and all of that and in that world I think that equestrian sport is such a beautiful activity where you still have the element of the real animal! You can only get one horse, you can’t copy-paste a horse. You can’t produce them like an iPhone X on a factory line, with a million copies of a horse. That would be great in some ways because we could all compete against each other more equally, but they’re all individuals just like you and I, that’s the beauty of working with a live animal! Give it a try…

MH: I got in to Dressage when I first started riding at 8 in Italy. I started with jumping but found that all the horses I owned could never jump. So by default I got into Dressage which I really loved, and now I have my Dressage horse, but I do want to get a show jumping horse when I move to the Netherlands too. I jumped a few times and really want to get into it, it’s the next thing for me but I still want to do Dressage. I think it’s good to have a bit of variety.

F.O.T: What does a typical week look like in terms of training?

MH: It depends because my schedule is unpredictable; I model and I fly a lot. So if I’m in Australia [home], I usually ride 5 times a week and I get one or two lessons with my coach, Denise Rogan. I like to have a really good balance between riding and my normal life because horses can take so much work – as much it gives back, but I’m the kind of person that I would never want to say no to something that I won’t do because I’ve got to ride ten horses; that’s not the kind of life I want. I want to be able to pick up and go and make the most of every opportunity and then also still enjoy my horse!

F.O.T: So five times a week and how many hours a day would that involve?

MH: Well, I’m the kind of person, I’m quite slow because I like the process. So I like go there, I enjoy racking up, spending time with them, doing a few fun things before I ride and then I ride for maybe like 45 minutes.

To give you a sense of my life – I had maybe 9 months out of Australia last year, I’m constantly back and forth, and I like to commit to an animal and do it right so I can’t have ten horses – so one is enough just to manage between me and my coach.

F.O.T: Would you say there are any benefits of riding different horses though in terms of improving your riding?

MH: Absolutely, every horse is different, it brings out different skill sets in you as a rider but I’m very content with just one.

F.O.T: How did you find your horse?

MH: I sold my first horse and I was going through the last year of school, so I was focused on my studies but as soon as I sold my horse I was so lost. Horses were always part of my life, and it was such a coping mechanism for me as well when I struggled with things. I was very down, I lost a bit of purpose so it took me a year and a half to find my horse. I travelled all of Australia, flying, looking, I checked three horses and they all failed so I was like really bummed out. And then I was at a competition one day and I bought a horse, just a fun project horse, and then at the competition I realised this is not what I want to do, I still want to look for like that horse to be more competitive on, to really set myself up some goals. I started looking and this ad came up, and I saw his ad on Facebook and I saw that this girl in Australia who buys a lot of horses had made a comment – so I was like damn it I’m not going to have another horse bought from underneath me so I said I don’t want to see photos, videos – when can I just come and see him?! Then I saw him, he’s massive, he’s 17.2, which is 176cm at the shoulder and then you still have the neck – and he’s quite big there as well. So I was like; wow this is a very big horse and I’m like 6,3 so I kinda needed something like that. We clicked straight away, he feels like a brother in a funny kind of way. He’s always testing the boundaries a little bit, like pushing. He’s very cuddly but he’ll bite every now and then just to be like cheeky, not painful, just playful. He’s super interactive with humans in general. He just craves attention. If I go on the paddock he’ll come and eat the grass just beside me, just under my feet, he loves that. The people who work in the stables, they’re in there doing the racking out, or cleaning out the stable and he’s biting their hair or pulling their clothes. He just loves attention! So that personality aspect really won me over, and the fact that he just so big and he takes care of me when I ride, that’s very important to me too.

F.O.T: It’s fascinating to hear about that connection you share with an animal!

MH: That’s the thing, it’s almost like a person, you have to hang out every single day and you do things sometimes when you both can’t be bothered, but I always think you got to train with a horse and you got to be happy – but the horse isn’t going to want to train everyday. It’s like picking a flatmate – you want someone that you can live with. You can’t just see them once a day for a couple of weeks you know. It was a very special partnership to find.

F.O.T: Does your horse ever have bad days when you just think, he’s not in the mood?

MH: For sure, but I’m the kind of person, I don’t need to win. I don’t need to be like Grand Prix so if it’s a bad day I literally just get off. I’m like it’s just not worth it. There are some days when I get up and have to go for a ten kilometres run – it’s not fair.

F.O.T: That’s really interesting, how do you complement your training? Sport specific stuff on the side of horse riding?

MH: I used to go the the gym quite regularly but now that I travel it’s been a bit interrupted. I’ve got to stay quite lean as I do the fashion circuit, so I’ve got to stay quite skinny.

F.O.T: How do you recover in terms of training?

MH: We have physios who come for my horses, we ice the legs, the place that I’m going to now has a walker, you have a treadmill and a water treadmill. I think for the rider, a lot of riders have back and hip problems as well. I think if you ride as well 6-7 horses a day it affects you. It’s all about riding correctly. Keeping up your fitness like doing something else – weight training as well. Yoga is great too. I come at this from a different perspective I’m not a professional rider. That’s great to see because if the sport only had professional riders there would be like a tenth of what there is now. What we do as equestrian influencers as well is showcase these massive events for amateurs, who aspire to one day compete, or even who are competitive, and want to achieve higher goals with their horse!

F.O.T: Does weight play a role when riding?

MH: It doesn’t matter too much within Dressage but with jumping it would matter a bit more. There are still some heavier riders who do well but of course the lighter the rider for the horse the better for the horse, ethically as well, I think.

F.O.T: What are the basic things to look at for anyone who’s never ridden or is new to Dressage?

MH: So Dressage at a higher level is about ‘collecting’ and thats a hard concept to understand. The horse if it’s carrying a rider needs to work in a certian way so the muscular are working with the rider, so you want the horse to be through the back – which means instead of having a hollow back they round in the back so they carry the weight, distribute the weight evenly, it’s not pinching down on one spot. So the head, which is connected to the spine, it’s all connected to the the rounding of the neck and bringing the back up and engaging the hind, which kind of gives you that rounding. To make it simple, Dressage is a horse moving through certain movements without you seeing the rider do anything and I think you have to show a lot of passion behind it as well.

F.O.T: Do you think, perhaps a bit of a controversial question, but are there instances where horses are mistreated in Dressage?

MH: Absolutely, in anything – in racing, in dressage, in show jumping – this is the sort of thing that the FEI try to monitor thoroughly because in any sport that involves money (though it doesn’t always have to involve money), people will do anything to get away with winning. That’s also the case in the Olympics where people are engaged in doping, it happens anywhere but when you involve an animal, the welfare of the animal could come second to the win or selling it for money. Just like any sport it has it’s dark sides.

F.O.T: But the bigger question; ‘Is Dressage cruel?’

MH: I think going into this, we need to understand that riding is a selfish sport. There’s no way of denying that, but if you’re giving a horse a good life, looking after it, and if you’re training it the right way, a lot of horses really enjoy it. Like my horse really enjoys the work. If you’re doing it correctly and you’ve got the right training and you respect the animal for what it’s giving you, there’s no reason my horse has to go round everyday in the arena form. I respect that, and I train him the correct way – there are certain things that you don’t do. I think if people understand that then it’s definitely not the case that dressage is cruel.

My horse had a tumorous growth which we had to get surgically removed, so we’ve definitely assisted; it’s just about managing that and making sure you have the horses best interest at heart.

F.O.T: Finally what would you say to anyone who is considering horse riding for the first time?

MH: When people tell me horse riding is easy I always say it’s like playing soccer but the ball has it’s own mind and feelings – it makes it ten times harder. On top of that you have, injuries, emotions, feelings, nerves. You may have worked your whole life, spent millions of dollars and you get to the olympics and your horse freaks out; there are people who get in the arena and they freak out and don’t even do their test. The road to getting there is hard, so hard, so competitive and so costly. Purely because of the fact that all this is going against you; how costly it is, and then you’re training a horse you get to the olympics, and it can take ten years to get in shape, but in that ten years, one injury and you’re done – the horse is gone – it happens a lot.

But if you’re considering riding as a hobby, there are a lot of benefits to it, and I actually used to be a coach at a riding school in Australia. I got the certificate so I used to coach a lot of young kids. I think from a child’s perspective, there’s so much personal growth that goes with it. Responsibility. For me it gave me a lot of confidence as well. I think handling these big animals who have so much presence was very scary at first, but you get used to it, and it really boosted my confidence as a child. Then moving on from that when I had to manage my own horse I had responsibilities of looking after it, and it really made me grow as a person.

But I think for anyone who wants to start, have a lesson and see how you go. It is costly so it’s something you want to think about especially if you want to buy a horse. What I always tell people isthat it’s not actually the first outlay of buying a horse which costs the most; it’s maintaining it, and keeping it, giving the horse the best lifestyle you can. The vet bills, I just had a bill of 10,000 for surgery. Things like this happen and you just have to be ready for it.

If I ride – and this is why I feel like riding is so emotional for so many people – it’s the only time in life when you are 100% living in the moment. You don’t think of anything else, you don’t do anything else, all your emotions are concentrated on the outcome you’re seeing straight away. I don’t know any other time in my life when I have that. It’s crazy, that’s why I can get off a ride and just feel like I want to cry, if things go bad, it’s just because you’re so involved. And when it goes happily, you’re on cloud nine. And if you have a bad day it ruins your whole day. It’s one of those things, I can’t think of one other thing that gives you that. Even when I work and I model I’m thinking of other stuff and planning other things. My emotions aren’t there and if the shot doesn’t come out great, I can be of course maybe not 100% thrilled but it doesn’t affect me as much. Riding is crazy like that!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/26/world-cup-dressage-a-potent-workout/feed/5ROAD TESTING THE FITBIT VERSA…http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/11/fitbit-versa/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/11/fitbit-versa/#commentsWed, 11 Apr 2018 05:21:18 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18677I’m a bit of a gadget fiend and love playing about with new fitness devices – one I’ve been excited to trial since its announcement is Fitbit’s latest iteration, the Versa. Several of my Personal Training clients use its predecessor the Ionic, and they are without exception, big fans. So when I was recently invited to […]

I’m a bit of a gadget fiend and love playing about with new fitness devices – one I’ve been excited to trial since its announcement is Fitbit’s latest iteration, the Versa. Several of my Personal Training clients use its predecessor the Ionic, and they are without exception, big fans. So when I was recently invited to Barcelona by Fitbit and Deezer for a wellness weekend to put the Versa to the test, I couldn’t wait to give it a shot! Together with a group of passionate journalists who’d coalesced from all across Europe, we participated in a series of fitness experiences on the beach, as well as a host of other activities. Since then I have been wearing the Versa every day back in London, and am happy to bring you 10 of myfavorite bits so far! Click MORE to see them all…

1) Over 4 Days of Battery Life

This is by far my favorite feature; charging just isn’t fun, and it’s easy to forget. Simply not having to charge the Fitbit for 4 days is pretty amazing in the era of battery-intensive processor demands! I travel quite a bit with work and for long weekends – the thought of not having to bring a charger for yet another piece of kit is comforting. This also allows you to keep it on overnight which has the bonus tracking your sleep… which brings me on to my the next great feature….

2) Sleep Tracking & Stages

I sleepwalk and sleeptalk, and have done all my life – and it gets worse if I’m stressed during the hours of wakefulness. This means despite the fact I may have gone to bed early, I wake after a ‘long’ night sleep feeling pretty tired. However, by being able to see the time spent in light, deep and REM sleep stages it gives me a unique insight into the quality of the sleep I’m getting. This personalized insight can really help figure out what’s going on, which enables you to finds ways to tackle this. For more information on sleep, check out my previous post here.

3) Music Experience

I don’t know about you but music is just such a colorful and significant part of my life – and what’s more, I listen to podcasts daily whilst walking to PT clients’ homes, or commuting around London. A workout without music is just too dull for words – it is the very lifeblood of a purposeful, massive session at the gym! Using Deezer, you can store and play more than 300 songs on your watch (no internet required on your run!), and download your own playlists from Deezer, and use the Fitbit Flyer wireless headphones to ditch the cables. I tried these earbuds out in some depth, and apart from looking and feeling extremely high quality, they are well lodged in the ear during a turbulent sweaty run, and deliver a strong sound quality that is crisp in the upper registers, and has character lower down too – so they are not a lightweight sacrifice.

4) Female Health

I love that there’s a dedicated ‘female’ feature, which feels very 2018. It allows you to keep track of your menstrual cycle, record symptoms and compare your cycle against other health stats like sleep, activity, and weight. When I realized how little women actually know about their periods and generally how we only look into them if/when there’s a problem, it made total sense to have an app which keeps track of it all for you. It also projects the optimum point of the fertility window too. I imagine this will find its way into competitor offerings shortly, as it’s a great idea.

5) Accessory Bands

There are a host of different bands to choose from including classic, leather, metal and woven; I went with a woven nylon affair, as I feel it’s sporty, functional, and easy to clean. The watch itself comes in a standard array of black aluminum, rose gold and grey/silver case; aside from that you can change the look of the watch face – it can give you as little or as much information on the main screen as you wish to share/view. In short, you’re not locked to one particular combination, but can tweak things to look and feel as you want.

6) Heart Rate Tracking

I found the heartbeat acquisition to be rapid and accurate. It’s excellent to be able to see your resting heart rate, track calorie burn, as well as give insight into your cardio fitness level. Using their SmartTrack you automatically record your chosen exercises like running, biking and more, and see them saved in the Fitbit app, which is neat.

7) There are 15+ Exercise Modes + Waterproofing

Fitbit recognizes that users do a lot of stuff. Consequently, in their Versa offering, there are over 15 exercise modes to help track each specific workout including Run, Bike, Weights session (etc), and throughout, you get a digi-coach to guide you through each move and adapt based on your feedback.

If you’re a swimmer or would like to keep track of your antics splashing about in the pool on holiday, the watch is water resistant up to 50M, which, combined with the 4-day charge, just makes it an easy ‘lifestyle’ everyday sort of choice. No special treatment needed.

Finally, at the end of each workout, Versa will give you a neat little summary which is always super helpful just for the sheer ‘mental note’ value.

8) All-Day Activity

Aside from just sleep and workouts, the watch tracks everyday activity which includes steps, heart rates, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, active minutes, hourly activity and stationary time. So even on days when you don’t have time to go to the gym at least you can ensure you move enough and hit your daily step target. I like the complete picture it generates, as generally, I prefer access to more data rather than less.

9) Personalized Reminders

These help you stay on track towards your goals with personalized reminders. So rather than getting to the end of the day and realizing you haven’t moved or drank enough water you’ll get those reminders during the day. A super lovely feature is the guided breathing sessions which help slow down your breathing as well as your heart rate down. It’s a wonderful little reminder to have every day.

10) Connected GPS

Whilst it’s not inbuilt, by enabling Connected GPS via a mobile device, you’re then able to view your runs and hikes and to see pace and distance on display, and of course get a map of your route in the Fitbit app. I’m pretty sure that an inbuilt GPS module would chomp through the monster battery life pretty quickly, so I’m happy to trade that functionality off for life-preservation.

Plus all the other stuff…

Aside from the fitness tracking tools, the Versa also provides all the other smartwatch functionalities that are valuable – receiving calls, texts, emails or calendar notifications on screen plus you get push notifications from your favorite apps. Plus, it’s loaded with mobile payment functionality, so you can use your credit and debit cards on-the-go, almost anywhere that accepts contactless payments. It’s a pretty-looking, svelte, and versatile smartwatch that does the job at a decent price, and what you lose from inbuilt GPS, you gain in battery life extension. This is a good piece of kit for £199!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/11/fitbit-versa/feed/10VEGAN BEAN BURGERS!http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/03/vegan-bean-burgers/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/03/vegan-bean-burgers/#commentsTue, 03 Apr 2018 05:32:54 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18649Sometimes I crave burgers, and last week, such a day befell me. However, I am pescatarian; cue the plants! I decided to whip up a batch of vegan burgers using basically whatever I had the fridge. In my favor – these burgers are one of the easiest recipes to make. Using beans (you can use […]

Sometimes I crave burgers, and last week, such a day befell me. However, I am pescatarian; cue the plants! I decided to whip up a batch of vegan burgers using basically whatever I had the fridge. In my favor – these burgers are one of the easiest recipes to make. Using beans (you can use chickpeas, kidney beans, butter beans etc) is ideal because they pack a proper payload of protein, are super cost-effective to make and can be produced in bulk to be frozen for another day! Click MORE for the simple instructions to have your own healthy burger day!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/03/vegan-bean-burgers/feed/4SPRING SKIING IN MEGEVE!http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/19/spring-ski-escape-to-megeve/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/19/spring-ski-escape-to-megeve/#commentsMon, 19 Mar 2018 06:04:04 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18609I recently had the excellent fortune to visit a charismatic, cozy, alpine bolt-hole named Les Fermes de Marie, nestled within the charming cobblestoned town of Mègeve, high up in the mountains of the French Alps. If you fancy going on a little ‘last-minute spring skiing weekend’, then perhaps read on to discover a little of […]

I recently had the excellent fortune to visit a charismatic, cozy, alpine bolt-hole named Les Fermes de Marie, nestled within the charming cobblestoned town of Mègeve, high up in the mountains of the French Alps. If you fancygoing on a little ‘last-minute spring skiing weekend’, then perhaps read on to discover a little of the magic behind this outstanding traditional mountain destination!

This ultra-picturesque town runs rich with charming authentic Savoyarde architecture as if you’ve time-warped back to a magical place where you’re riding in a horse-drawn carriage whilst church bells echo around the surrounding mountain shoulders. Unlike many ski resorts, some of which feel as if they were purpose-built in the 1970s, this entire town feels authentic, genuine and understated but is by no means sleepy! There is a pleasing blend of superb slopes, compelling hospitality options, countless boutiques and at the end of the day you can retire to Les Fermes de Marie by the fire in the coziest of chalets with all the modern amenities to make skiing enjoyable, deeply enrobing mattresses and possibly the best mountain spa I’ve encountered.

LES FERMES DE MARIE…

There are nine chalets, forged from reclaimed timber, sprawling across four acres of alpine garden. Whilst people may know Mègeve predominantly for skiing it’s active throughout the whole year, and is perfect as an active escape in summer for hiking and yoga, or likewise as relaxing spa retreat amidst the fresh spring air. The site was founded in 1981 by Jocelyn and Jean-Louis Sibuet, and as the name would suggest, the building was traditionally a farm. Jocelyn’s daughter is called Marie, and she feels it was a lucky name, so has since named many other hotels in their collection after her daughter as well. Jocelyn Sibuet designed Les Fermes de Marie and in many ways pioneered the distinctive chalets style across this region. If you get the chance to visit, you can expect large rustic properties decked in distressed wood from mountain farmhouses, plus beautifully detailed hand-painted ceilings, dim cozy lighting, fluffy fur blankets, and aromatically invigorating log fires all hidden under a blanket of deep snow. Throughout my time, I felt that the service was confident, super friendly and professional but not overbearing; instead, it boasted genuine warm French charm, often notable for its absence in the hospitality industry.

WELLBEING…

This is a place for complete wellbeing. During my stay, I slept plentifully on a vast bed, woke to a classic healthy breakfast, would head out for a full morning of hard skiing, take in the crisp, fresh alpine air scented with pine, grab lunch, dispatch some more skiing and then return to base. The experience leaves you quite drained, but feeling superbly energized.

Megève’s ski domain spans a monstrous 300km of slopes with and 80 perfectly integrated ski lifts within three areas – the Rochebrune Cote 2000, Jaillet and Mont d’Arbois. It’s comfortably suitable for all levels – you’ll find a good mix of green, blue, red and black, such that you should find it hard to get piste-fatigue here within a week! Megève also links the ski areas of Combloux, Saint-Nicolas de Veroce, and Saint Gervais completing the Evasion-Mont Blanc ski area.

BENEFITS OF SKIING?

•THRILL: Skiing as a sport is simultaneously thrilling, exhausting, exhilarating, uplifting, and perilous. If nothing else, it is a workout for all of the emotions! The thrill of tearing down the slopes means worldly troubles could not seem further away; adrenaline and endorphins flow freely in this pursuit!

•CORE BURN: You’re engaging the muscular ‘core’ to stabilize yourself, for hours on the trot. As a result, this activity hones and refines the agility and balance.

•CARDIO: It is a superb aerobic workout; an hour of skiing clocked up c.450 calories of energy consumption for me, though it would be more than double that should you go cross country skiing! Poling along on the flat, something I did quite a fair bit of, is a real leg-burner, and I loved it!

•LEG BURN: The entire leg complex benefits from the lunging and squatting silhouettes adopted during a day’s skiing; the glutes, the quads, the hamstrings and the calves all feel the benefit of moving on plains they rarely otherwise do, and bearing stresses as you go; you feel it after day 1, no matter how much you prep! Likewise, the joints and bones take the impact of the shock absorption required to navigate the piste, so are being strengthened too.

•FLEXIBILITY: Given that you’re constantly stretching and moving at extreme ranges of motion, skiing naturally improves your flexibility as the week goes on.

•MOOD BOOSTING: The mood is elevated; soaring amidst vast majestic mountains just fills you with renewed life. The air is crisp and pure, restoring strength to the lungs and constitution; the colors are divine, with an inky darkness of blue possible only at extreme altitude, cutting deliciously against the fresh white of the groomed snow, and the contenting effect of the sunshine amplifies it all with a sprinkling of vitamin D.

•REST & RECOVERY: Sleep gets a huge boost, for, at the end of the day, you’re utterly shattered, leaving no alternative but to seek restorative shut-eye!

RESTAURANTS AT LES FERMES DE MARIE…

There are 3 restaurants that I think seem to offer a suitable breadth of flavor for every palate…

1) Restaurant Traditionnel

Per the name, they serve up traditional Savoyarde cuisine centered around natural local flavors. The dishes work in harmony with the seasons: fish is sourced from local mountain lakes, the herbs are from Les Fermes de Marie’s alpine gardens, fruits and vegetables are grown locally, and cuts of meat are signature Metzger, whilst the cheese platters stem from the master Cheese-monger Boujon.

2) Restaurant Alpin. In summer and autumn, Les Fermes de Marie offers a table d’hôtes in a magical natural setting, high among alpine fields, looking out across the peaks and directly at snow-capped Mont Blanc.

3) Le Bar – A relaxed affair which suits the purpose after a day of skiing; perfect to sit down for a game of chess, read a book or enjoy a hot chocolate in the cozy sofas.

ROOM WISE;

There are a total of 70 rooms and suites, each decorated with the simplicity of the traditional chalet style, and each with its own story, uniquely designed by Jocelyne Sibuet. There is an atmospheric and mysteriously cosy sensation in each of the rooms I visited, quite unlike anywhere else I’ve visited. It all promotes a sense of ease and comfort after a demanding day of exertion!

Pure Altitude Spa at Les Fermes de Marie

To counterbalance the daytime active pursuits, I found 100% Alpine Wellness at the hotel’s spa. It’s a superbly well invested facility with some serious diversity of spa features to keep you coming back in every evening! There are 17 gorgeous spa treatment rooms, an indoor swimming pool surrounded by bay windows opening slopeside, with a choice of indoor or outdoor jacuzzis in which to relax, and likewise, indoor/outdoor saunas. As well as a wet sauna, steam room, Japanese-style Ofuro baths both hot and cold, and a terrace relaxation area looking out across the alpine gardens!

My time here was characterized by an overwhelming sense of ease and comfort, in contrast to my historic memories of skiing of old. There are comforts at every turn, with cozy, family-run individuality running through it as a constant thread. I returned more relaxed than when I left, in spite of the heavy physical activity – a key measure of a worthwhile escape!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/19/spring-ski-escape-to-megeve/feed/6VOLVO AT THE GROVE!http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/12/volvo-at-the-grove/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/12/volvo-at-the-grove/#commentsMon, 12 Mar 2018 05:43:04 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18564I spent last weekend in the company of one of the greatest Swedish icons; no, not Björn Borg, ABBA, or the Chef from The Muppets – but Volvo! Throughout my childhood in Karlskrona (southern Sweden) literally everybody’s parents drove this marque, including mine. Our country has a reserved, understated national culture, and it’s a point […]

I spent last weekend in the company of one of the greatest Swedish icons; no, not Björn Borg, ABBA, or the Chef from The Muppets – but Volvo! Throughout my childhood in Karlskrona (southern Sweden) literally everybody’s parents drove this marque, including mine. Our country has a reserved, understated national culture, and it’s a point of humor that the populace differentiates its individuality by buying the *newest* Volvo. Now though, the exquisite, silky and muscular aesthetics of this freshly-launched beauty, the XC40, make our old 1990s Swedish 240 estate look about as aerodynamic as a cube! Our weekend at The Grove was themed around the classically Swedish concept of Lagom (there’s no direct translation but perhaps conjure Goldilocks and her ‘just right’ porridge), and part of my role was to lead a group of fabulous lifestyle press around a 30-minute HIIT workout on the ‘wellbeing’ part of their experience. Click MORE to read my thoughts on this car, to see how we got on with lagom, and to get a little BTS from the event!

Lagom is super duper Swedish; it’s all about striking an equilibrium of moderation to achieve sustainable contentment; neither having too little nor wanting too much, but instead realizing exactly the right amount of something, whether that be food, holiday, weather, experiences etc. It’s a very Nordic concept, and to me, it means that things are just right, just the way they are.

The XC40 is Volvo’s first small SUV, and you might say that it too is Lagom. But something’s seriously ‘off’. When cars are designed, visionary artists summon totally badass concept sketches that set car aficionados alight, but then somewhere between sketching and production, someone’s job is to make that car look really, really boring, as if it might have been a new car 10 years ago when vehicle silhouettes were aggressively cuboid. At Volvo, they have apparently forgotten to hire that person, and the result is a car that looks just as awesome as the concept sketch! Consequently, I think the XC40 is going to be quite the hit, especially because the monthly cost for a decent spec is actually good; there’s a lot of car-for-money (we Swedes are also notoriously frugal!).

My time in the vehicle was ultra comfortable (even though my press ‘chauffeurs’ did their best to test the limits of road-holding!), with my memory being characterized by an abundance of natural light inside the airy, glass-rich cabin. There are also neat, functional design flourishes and attention-to-detail that you’d expect to find on a luxury saloon at 2x the price, along with electronic connectivity that effectively turns it into a 4-wheel-drive iPhone! Hands full with the weekly shopping? Merely genuflect under the boot with your leg to pop the trunk! Lost your parking space at the Westfield multi-story haystack? Track, start, climate-control and/or lock your car from iPad. Spluttering from the noxious city fumes? Breathe ionized, filtered air in the cabin, whilst being massaged and soothed by dulcet tones from the crisp, 600-watt capable (!!!) Harmon Kardon audio. Then there’s wireless inductive phone charging (no cables), Apple CarPlay (so the whole system works with your iPhone seamlessly), heated steering wheel (essential on frosty days!), 360-degree reversing cams, self-parking etc… In other words, nice, modern, logical features you’d actually want in the car if you designed it yourself!

When we arrived at the gorgeous parkland bathed in glorious sunshine (and 0 degrees temperatures!), the fitness session I hosted for Volvo was to be a 30-minute outdoor bodyweight class. We went for a 2-minute jog around the perimeter of the park ground to start the warming up process, and then sub-groups alternated between wall sits and sprints back and forth, for around 5 minutes.

After that, it was ‘jackets off’ and we took up position on the mats to start the circuit of 6 moves with different options to cater for different fitness level; we tackled a minute of walking planks followed by a minute of stepping lunges/jumping lunges, a minute of press ups, and a minute of squats/jumping squats, then 30-45 seconds of Static Plank holds with the option of scapula retraction, and 30-45 seconds of clapping sit-ups. In between each, a 30-second mini recovery of high legs to keep warm.

When one cycle of all 6 moves had been completed, we took a break for a minute before hitting it again for the next cycle, and then the third and final cycle, at which point the body was in serious lactic-acid mode! A warm-down stretching session wrapped things up with the power HIIT session lasting 30 minutes on the nose.

Since Lagom is about balance, there was also Swedish Massage and cinnamon buns involved, as well as some aerial yoga!

It was my first ‘consumer experience’ of Volvo’s products since my childhood days; whilst they’re still a Swedish champion today, they’ve changed a lot over the years, and are clearly at the leading edge of lifestyle design and technology; and like any patriotic Swede, I really love it!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/12/volvo-at-the-grove/feed/7SKI SMARTER…http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/04/ski-smarter/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/04/ski-smarter/#commentsSun, 04 Mar 2018 09:06:17 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18555I recently hopped over for an alpine excursion to Andermatt, Switzerland and whilst there, I continued my investigations into the Apple Watch Series 3. I’ve taken detailed looks into its baby brothers’ capabilities on my blog before, both here and here; as a kale-munching millennial, I’m a technivore who craves machinery that’ll eliminate guesstimation and present […]

I recently hopped over for an alpine excursion to Andermatt, Switzerland and whilst there, I continued my investigations into the Apple Watch Series 3. I’ve taken detailed looks into its baby brothers’ capabilities on my blog before, both here and here; as a kale-munching millennial, I’m a technivore who craves machinery that’ll eliminate guesstimation and present me with solid, irrefutable data to track my fitness progress. Unlike swimming and running, however, skiing is the type of cardio which historically has been all but impossible to track with anything other than a vague approximation. But thanks to the GPS module and an integrated altimeter, that’s no longer the case… what I found was rich data that massively complemented and enhanced the fun of my slopeside accomplishments! Read more below…

Whilst I’m hardly in the league of a Frida Hansdotter or Lindsey Vonn (though I’m ambitious!), I do absolutely love the benefits that a ski break can bring (recent post running through said benefits HERE), and the idea of consuming a suite of analytics via my wrist strikes me as a revolutionary and fascinating insight, but also an obvious evolution to an opaque discipline! My time with the functionality was frankly effortless, with the data collection operation running in the background to track and evaluate my time on the slopes. I’m excited to share my findings with you!

I spent most of my time getting to know the newly launched app snoww, developed by skier Eddy Healey to suit beginners and experts alike, and for both skiers and snowboarders. I met Eddy, who talked about having “designed snoww thinking about quick interactions and glances while out on the mountain so these updates have helped us make it easy to record accurate, relevant metrics as well as create a fun and social experience for our users.”

So what does it do?

1)It frees up your hands…

Skiing is cumbersome at the best of time, and it’s not easy to stop, unzip jacket, take off gloves, delve into inner pockets, suffer the incursion of arctic wind, and then observe metrics on the phone, after unlocking it. With Apple Watch, I particularly appreciated the hands-free control with Siri on the iPhone and Apple Watch. Without having to press anything, and with the power of speech alone, I could just instruct Siri to start snoww tracking my runs, on demand. Despite being from a cold country, I’m always frozen, so never having to take off my cozy fluffy gloves when in the mountains is amazing!!!

2)It knows your altitude…

I wasn’t expecting this capability and thought it was quite neat; like the instrument cluster on an aircraft, the in-built barometric altimeter can detect if you’re ascending on a ski lift, or free-falling on a ski run, and tracks it automatically, so that the vertical descent stats are as accurate as realistically possible. Also, the smooth ascent profile of a ski lift can be recognized by Apple Watch, and doesn’t count as ‘work done’, so doesn’t corrupt your exertion statistics either.

3)It counts your calories…

If you’re really going for it, your ‘active’ calorie measurements feed straight into Apple Watch and the Activity app, (the calorie estimates are based on Apple’s workout algorithms, which is informed by the heart rate sensor). I had no idea just how much energy is required/burned during a day’s worth of skiing, and was astounded by my numbers. It’s now possible to know at exactly which mouthful of cheese fondue you’ve entered calorie surplus!

4) It tallies up your runs…

Not only will it keep track of how many slopes you’ve skied, but also the total time spent on the slopes – all without using a morsel of mobile data allowance. That’s made possible via the built-in GPS and altimeter as well as custom workout APIs released in watchOS 4.2 meaning the device’s functionalities can talk to different apps now.

5) It encourages ‘Target Practice’…

With the location capabilities also come average and maximum speed displays. This quickly becomes quite competitive with friends, and anyone else there – locals and pros. It is the essence of humanity to know a boundary, and work towards surpassing it. You can also gift each other trophies for achieving milestones.

6)It lets you do the social thing…

Crystal-blue mountainscape photos need to be shared with friends around the world, and on Apple Watch, you can browse other snoww users’ shots. It’s also a pretty good live check on the weather around other nearby villages – as well as a window into any other fun social activities going on! It allows you to follow friends, compare vital ski stats, or compete with other skiers and snowboarders to climb your way to the top of your mountain’s leaderboard, lending rigor to the competition of skiing!

7)It knows when to start, and when to stop…

The snoww app automatically pauses logging when you’re stationary (‘chocolat chaud’ mode) and resumes when you mobilize again, meaning you’ll get credit towards the Activity rings only when you’re really earning it; meantime, the workout information will also be recorded to the Health app on iPhone, which is my single repository for health stats!

8)It knows where you are…

The mountains can be big, isolating, and lonely places at times; every skier will have temporarily lost another member of the party at some point, and trying to find them by describing your location is tricky; ‘I’m by the trees, there’s a lift nearby, and snow everywhere…’. By getting the ‘Find My Friends’ live locations straight to your wrist, you know where everyone is, all at once. Aside from the ‘peace of mind’ and safety benefits associated with that, it also saves potentially frosted hands from digging out your phone or potentially dropping and breaking your phone whilst on the lift!

9) It’s a 3D interactive piste map on your wrist…

It’s got terrain and satellite maps on the ‘run’ and ‘lift’ breakdowns. A little geeky perhaps, but if you’re into your skiing, definitely kinda cool! You can even replay your runs in 3D with speed heat-maps. And of course, you can then show off by sharing your day’s stats on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using customizable images.

10)Battery friendly

I was happy to experience that it’s possible to ride and record all day, without having exhausted my Apple Watch battery. The recording works deep in the backcountry without an internet connection because it’s not dependent on data exchange. A heavy day of use didn’t exhaust the battery.

At the end of the day’s skiing escapades, you can access the app suite via your phone, extract even more detailed information, and evaluate your performance relative to friend’s ski summaries. While you technically can leave your phone behind now, I found better battery life and frankly superior accuracy by keeping the phone in my pocket still (as Apple Watch uses iPhone’s GPS if it’s nearby). As a modern skier in a data-driven, IoT-enabled, analytics-obsessed world, I couldn’t do without this to enhance the depth of every aspect of the skiing experience!

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/04/ski-smarter/feed/04 SUPERB PRE-RUN STRETCHES!http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/01/4-superb-pre-run-stretches/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/01/4-superb-pre-run-stretches/#commentsThu, 01 Mar 2018 06:03:27 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18530There’s an asymmetric profile to the advantages of warming up before heading out on a run – it helps to materially decrease the risk of injury as by ignoring or rushing a warmup, you’re more likely to pull a muscle, tear a tendon, or tweak a joint. Also, I find that if I don’t warm […]

There’s an asymmetric profile to the advantages of warming up before heading out on a run – it helps to materially decrease the risk of injury as by ignoring or rushing a warmup, you’re more likely to pull a muscle, tear a tendon, or tweak a joint. Also, I find that if I don’t warm up but rather go straight into a run, it’s simply harder to sustain the pace, and I’m more likely to burn out quicker. This, in turn, makes me feel demotivated and discouraged from running again; cue the spiral of unfavorable results! This post is a brief overview of my 4 favorite warm-up stretches which you might give a try next time you’re about to go for your run!

Warming up helps blood flow to all the muscles you’ll shortly be using, and it lubricates the joints with synovial fluid which helps absorb the impact of running. Further, by gradually increasing your heart rate it’ll help you find a rhythm that you’ll be able to keep for longer.

I always start out with a brisk walk as it helps ease into the movement, it takes your body through the range of motion, mimicking the exercise at hand and firing up the right muscles. After 5 minutes or so, I start feeling warm, will add a 2-minute jog and then revert back to walking.

Once you’re properly warmed up (typically after 5 minutes or so), start with dynamic stretches. Unlike static stretches where you hold a muscle for a longer period of time in a static position (often in excess of 30 seconds) here, the stretches are short but not rushed. In a controlled manner, you use movements (stretches) to improve range of motion. Aside from jumping jacks, side shuffle, backward jogs, burpees, squats etc (all of which are popular ways of warming up, below are a few legs stretches that are quick and easy to do.

1) STEPPING LUNGE

Stand with your legs a shoulder-width apart, in a parallel position, ensuring you maintain a good neutral posture. Bend the left knee and lunge forward onto your right foot. Go as far as you are comfortable ensuring the right knee doesn’t bend past the toes. Try to keep the hips ‘square’, without collapsing onto one side or the other. Then straighten the back leg (without locking the knee). Increase the stretch to the extent you feel comfortable by lowering the hips. Engage the throughout as it will help protect the lower back. Hold for a couple of seconds and then step forward into a lunge with the other leg.

LEG EXTENSOR STRETCH (similar to butt kicks)

Standing tall, bend the left knee behind you, bring your heel toward your gluteus and swing the right arm back and left arm forward. Repeat on the other side, and try to do at least 10 on each side.

LEG FLEXOR STRETCH

With your feet parallel, stand upright and extend forward the left arm, whilst bending your right knee at 90 degrees in front of you. Try to extend the calf so that it’s in line with your leg, creating a straight leg per the below image, parallel to the ground. Really engage your quads whilst you extend the leg. Then return to the original position and repeat with your other leg.

Once you’re used to the leg flexor and extensor kick (stretch #2, above) perhaps combine the two – start by standing tall, walk forward whilst kicking your heels toward your gluteus and alternating between high knees. This will help stretch your quads particularly. Butt kicks with high knees, plus a straight kick!

PLANTAR FLEXOR STRETCH

With hands on the hips, lift the left leg slightly off the ground, ensuring the knee is straight and aligned with the leg. Point the toes straight out in line with the knee, and then reverse this flexion by pointing the toes upward, and then return to your starting position. Repeat this on your right leg, and then a further 9 times on each leg.

Below is a neat variant to assist in stretching the calves, and can be dispatched on any curb in the country

WHAT I’M WEARING?

I’m wearing the Light Racer trainer from Adidas – they’re lightweight as the name suggests, and are also made with an ultra-light midsole which has a superb comfort-to-weight ratio! Aside from the warmup stretch, I went out for a 5k run whilst the sun was setting in London and found the trainers supportive for pounding the trails around Hampstead Heath. I got my sneakers from my friends at Deichmann – head over for loads of trainers for affordable prices.

THIS POST IS A SPONSORED COLLABORATION WITH DEICHMANN. FOR MORE ABOUT WHY I TAKE ON SUCH PROJECTS, PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE PAGE. THANK YOU.

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/03/01/4-superb-pre-run-stretches/feed/11THE ‘RECOVERY’ TRIO…http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/02/26/therecoverytrio/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/02/26/therecoverytrio/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 06:03:19 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18503To me, sleep has long been ‘everything’, but others have been coming round to this stance, as already, sleep is emerging as quite the hot topic in 2018, with several national newspapers drilling down into its favourable effects our constitution; as health and well-being (quite rightly) occupies a growing mindshare of ‘the Zeitgeist’, it seems […]

To me, sleep has long been ‘everything’, but others have been coming round to this stance, as already, sleep is emerging as quite the hot topic in 2018, with several national newspapers drilling down into its favourable effects our constitution; as health and well-being (quite rightly) occupies a growing mindshare of ‘the Zeitgeist’, it seems only natural that society will begin to challenge that age-old travesty of sacrificing sleep to ‘look committed’ to a cause. We may, in our machismo, think of it as a bank account that can be raided, as a currency which can be exchanged for kudos, or perhaps as an unproductive use of our 24 precious hours, but times – and attitudes – are unquestionably changing. Sleep is fast being seen as an indulgent luxury of which we should consume more, not time wasted but time well invested, and even perhaps as a currency to be spent of its own accord. The tide is beginning to turn, it’s no longer as socially unpalatable to prioritise one’s own recovery, to have an early night, or even (heaven forbid) two in a row! The nation has begun a long overdue conversation about this topic; recovery is on the agenda more than ever before, whether you’re into fitness or not. This post is in collaboration with Tempur, and highlights the so-called Holy Trinity of Recovery; Sleep, Stretching and Sports Massage! Click MORE to read on…

To my mind, there are several components to optimal recovery, chief amongst them is sleep, followed closely thereafter by stretching, sports massage in equal runner-up positions. This is the Holy Trinity of Recovery! Taking each in turn;

1) SLEEP

It is the time-honoured antidote to tiredness, and perhaps more broadly, the regular cure for wakefulness, that condition by which we grow wearier as each day drags on! Foregoing the right amount, or right quality of sleep can weaken our immune systems, leave us sluggish and with less energy to work out, slow our metabolisms, make it harder to lose weight, affect blood sugar and blood pressure levels, increase appetite due to a depletion of satiety hormones, and trigger some pretty grumpy mood swings!

But if you get it right, regularly, it can enhance muscular recovery, restore mental acuity, release Human Growth Hormone, restore bone and organs, and generally make you a more content individual with whom to interact! It’s easy to preach that someone should ‘get more’, but harder to implement in practise.

On my travels writing this Blog, I’ve encountered a number of the country’s leading sleep scientists, several times each, and there seems to be a consensus amongst them for tips to optimise slumber. Investing in a good bed which is the largest possible size is the single largest and most game-changing adjustment most people can make, as they’re often sleeping on outdated, unsuitable, un-sleepworthy beds; a Tempur mattress is made with an optimally comfortable orthopaedic material on which to recover after a tough workout. Mindfulness and unflappable patience matter too, as does restrained alcohol consumption and no caffeine after 13:00; plus don’t exercise late at night, keep the bedroom temperature cool, introduce a clockwork routine every night, avoid props like sleeping pills, take a warm bath and burn a little lavender oil, and eradicate the blue light emitted by screens an hour or two prior to bedtime. Further, it seems de rigueur not to go back to sleep when the alarm clock rings!

2) SPORTS MASSAGE

This is one of my top luxuries to lavish upon my body after a hard session, but it’s not just a personal opinion; top athletes consider it critical to boost recovery as part of their physical conditioning program. Far from the lightweight, superficial ‘cosmetic’ sort of massage you ought to find at your local spa, this is an intense dose of focused, physical therapy schooled in the medically demonstrable study of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, administered by qualified professionals. It helps loosen and soften hard muscle tissue, corrects imbalances, improves mobility, and releases accumulated tensions around the muscle sheaths. What’s more, rock-like muscles clumps make it harder for blood to flow, stopping your muscles getting what they need! With sports massage, the blood vessels dilate & membrane pores widen, allowing better oxygen flow, the transportation of lactic waste, as well as nutrients for the restoration of the muscles. It also reduces the muscular pain you feel called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, promotes relaxation, releases endorphins when some of the knotty nodes are targeted and can help to boost overall performance. It is a superb pursuit for the goal of recovery!

3) STRETCHING

Too often at the gym, I observe stretching to be considered a sacrificial part of the workout, as if it’s somehow perfunctory to the purpose of training, and can therefore be cast aside until some nebulous time in the future. Yet just a few minutes after each session will form a habit that changes the way you age with your body.

You’ll retain muscle balance better, as some muscles are tighter than others after hours of desk work each day but stretching helps to evenly condition them.

Also to help minimise the aching feeling we experience the day or two after a big training session, a stretch is essential. DOMS, the industry acronym for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, is kept at bay when you stretch as you’re elongating and softening the muscle fibres, which helps you to re-condition for the next session!

You’ll also expand your range of motion to encourage supple flexibility; when you stretch out a joint, you elongate the surrounding soft tissue i.e, ligaments and tendons, which means you’ll become more flexible with time, putting yourself less at risk of injury when you move into extremes of motion.

Crucially, as the body ages, you’ll need to train it to remain as mobile as it is now. Many experience postural difficulties, and whilst some of these are unavoidable, many can be alleviated through a regular stretch.

So there we have it, the Holy Trinity of Recovery! With that in mind, perhaps now go and get some rest

Faya x

______________________

THIS POST IS A SPONSORED COLLABORATION WITH TEMPUR AS PART OF THEIR POWER OF RECOVERY CAMPAIGN. FOR MORE ABOUT WHY I TAKE ON SUCH PROJECTS, PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE PAGE. THANK YOU.

]]>http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/02/26/therecoverytrio/feed/7ACTIVE SKI ESCAPE TO COURCHEVELhttp://fitnessontoast.com/2018/02/12/fitness-active-ski-escape-travel-courchevel-france-luxury-le-saint-roch-hotel/
http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/02/12/fitness-active-ski-escape-travel-courchevel-france-luxury-le-saint-roch-hotel/#commentsMon, 12 Feb 2018 06:03:18 +0000http://fitnessontoast.com/?p=18387Skiing is a grueling full-body aerobic workout, and regularly puts thousands of calories to good use every single day… However, in my younger days, I can only remember it as an uncomfortably awkward experience for the unfortunate, suffering mountain-goer. As a skier, you’d have to tolerate some serious unpleasantness to survive the week; the sweaty […]

Skiing is a grueling full-body aerobic workout, and regularly puts thousands of calories to good use every single day… However, in my younger days, I can only remember it as an uncomfortably awkward experience for the unfortunate, suffering mountain-goer. As a skier, you’d have to tolerate some serious unpleasantness to survive the week; the sweaty boots would imprison and crush your feet and always inflict shin splint, the skis weighed a ton, chairlifts were slow and unreliable, the clothes weren’t really weatherproof, the food was terrible, the chalet beds were paper-thin and yielded a pitifully un-restorative night’s sleep… and I shan’t touch upon the neon all-in-one “fashion” monstrosities! Thankfully, times have changed unrecognizably, for ’skiing’ has radically upped its game, and nowhere on the planet has this alpine art de vivre been more finely honed than Courchevel. I ventured to the warmth of Hotel Le Saint Roch in Courchevel 1850, to deliver the firstAlpine Active Escape I’ve covered on this blog, and the refined experience I discovered there has transformed my understanding of pure joy on the pistes! Click MORE to see the full experience…

As ever the review shall be structured in 4 parts, as follows: 1) The Fitness Activity, 2) The Hotel Facilities & Service, 3) The Food, and 4) The Summary Thoughts…

… But before I start, perhaps a little background about this magical resort. Courchevel is the jewel in the crown of Les Trois Vallées, a vast interconnected realm of 8 resorts, with 600km of skiable runs, and range of altitudes troughing at 600m above sea-level, and peaking at 3400m. It has 183 ski lifts that can move 260,000 skiers about every hour. It is simply cavernous, which makes it a total playground for winter sports. Courchevel itself has a degree of glamorous repute, with its own Bond-villain style airport, the unusual concentration of designer stores, and even higher concentration of Michelin-starred establishments. Ski resorts often look ugly, adorned with gargoyles of 1980s construction; unimaginative concrete blocks clustered in towns that protrude garishly from the snow. Courchevel however, is the prettiest ski resort I’ve ever seen, with a gorgeous traditional village, immaculately well kept public amenities, elegant and charming architectural structures both new and old, a wonderful aspect to catch the best of the day’s light, and stunning shoulders of fir trees that run down the mountains creating the unique backdrop that identifies this place at a glance. It is then, quite a special thing to spend time here and I savored every moment of it; here are my thoughts in more detail.

1) FITNESS ACTIVITY – THE BENEFITS OF SKIING:

As I sat on the chairlifts and bubbles, I kept a set of notes recalling my fresh reactions to the Ski experience unfolding around me; here are some of the undiluted thoughts I penned:

THRILL: Skiing as a sport is simultaneously thrilling, exhausting, exhilarating, uplifting, and perilous. If nothing else, it is a workout for all of the emotions! The thrill of tearing down the slopes means worldly troubles could not seem further away; adrenaline and endorphins flow freely in this pursuit!

CORE BURN: You’re engaging the muscular ‘core’ to stabilize yourself, for hours on the trot. As a result, this activity hones and refines the agility and balance.

CARDIO: It is a superb aerobic workout; an hour of skiing clocked up c.450 calories of energy consumption for me, though it would be more than double that should you go cross country skiing! Poling along on the flat, something I did quite a fair bit of, is a real leg-burner, and I loved it!

LEG BURN: The entire leg complex benefits from the lunging and squatting silhouettes adopted during a day’s skiing; the glutes, the quads, the hamstrings and the calves all feel the benefit of moving on plains they rarely otherwise do, and bearing stresses as you go; you feel it after day 1, no matter how much you prep! Likewise, the joints and bones take the impact of the shock absorption required to navigate the piste, so are being strengthened too.

FLEXIBILITY: Given that you’re constantly stretching and moving at extreme ranges of motion, skiing naturally improves your flexibility as the week goes on.

MOOD BOOSTING: The mood is elevated; soaring amidst vast majestic mountains just fills you with renewed life. The air is crisp and pure, restoring strength to the lungs and constitution; the colors are divine, with an inky darkness of blue possible only at extreme altitude, cutting deliciously against the fresh white of the groomed snow, and the contenting effect of the sunshine amplifies it all with a sprinkling of vitamin D.

LEARNING & EXPLORING: I took a few hours of tuition with a legendary instructor from the ESF, Patrick Bayle (who’s been skiing almost as long as Courchevel has existed, and is also a world record holder for Paragliding), who showed me the farthest flung parts of Les Trois Vallées, whilst helping iron out the kinks in my technique with classic Gallic finesse.

REST & RECOVERY: Sleep gets a huge boost, for, at the end of the day, you’re utterly shattered, leaving no alternative but to seek restorative shut-eye!

2) THE HOTEL FACILITIES & SERVICE

If you’ve ever visited this resort, you’ll have encountered the Maison Tournier group (consciously or otherwise) operating both in front and behind the scenes. The Tournier family’s roots run deep in this village, stretching back to the late 1940s when Courchevel was first established, and their dynasty has spawned a unique hospitality collection fusing heritage and modernity in equal parts. My home for the trip, Le Saint Roch, is a part of that group, and has a unique character I found totally compelling and fascinating…

With 19 suites, 5 rooms and 2 apartments, this is an intimate hotel; it feels discreet and subtle in many ways, yet charismatic and indulgent in others. Overseen by the venerated General Manager, Valerie Mansis, there is a dedication to anticipate guests wishes and a service ethic which is quite differentiated from anything I’ve encountered before. Whilst ski accommodation is often just a necessary ‘means to an end’, here it is elevated to an art form where detail is the life-blood of the Saint Roch. There’s a signature scent that just works for this hotel in this resort, which subtly drifts through the communal areas and rooms, an evocative touch which helps to carve out the memories more clearly; there are indulgences such as custom bed sheets and bespoke toiletries from Maison Kurkdjian; the distressed-wood ceiling is hundreds of years old and preserved from the original structure that once stood here; there’s always jazz and bossa nova playing from some of the coolest ceiling-hung speakers I’ve seen; the day service is in white and the night service is in black; they print you a custom newspaper edit on their signature silvered paper each morning in your language; the rooms boast a host of warm and endearing touches like a fresh chamomile tea heated by candlelight beside your bed after turndown, a plate of bon bons upon arrival, and an interior scheme with lush cozy flourishes of leather, fur and velvet. And a personal favorite touch; every single room has a private hammam in its bathroom, great for facilitating assisted stretching!

But the most remarkable aspect of Le Saint Roch is the service. I have been fortunate to travel extensively and enjoy some of the worlds finest hospitality, but this has been amongst the most consistently professional, attentive, subtle and effectively delivered service I’ve encountered, true of the entire staff. Ever present, yet seemingly absent, they quietly observe and anticipate what you might like without you ever having to trouble yourself too much, judging what’s appropriate for each guest, and thereby promoting pure cognitive ease. Your preferences are discovered – never intrusively so – learned, and remembered for tomorrow or equally the next trip. And this is the genius of Le Saint Roch, and of Maison Tournier; surrounded by a comforting cocoon of support, the guest need never suffer during the ski experience. For those who have had to tolerate discomforts on alpine excursions, it needn’t be the case here; the staff will remove your ski boots for you (usually quite an ordeal at the end of a tiring day); they will relieve you of your skis / boots / helmet & gloves and dry/warm them for tomorrow morning’s use when they’ll deliver them back to you; they arrange for your ski pass to be routed to your room, your transfers to and from the airport, your instructor to meet you at the hotel, your lunch venues to be booked (with priority, many of them are also Maison Tournier operations!), and their shuttles are always available for you to be transported around the village. And every member of staff knows you by name, a small personal touch, but a clear differentiator of world-class execution.

I would be remiss not to mention the Spa as a place to unwind in silent tranquility at the end of the day. This became part of my daily ritual, as I stepped across the centerpiece swimming pool and rested in quietude upon the far side of the facility for an hour or so, to rehydrate and decompress in equal measures.

3) THE FOOD

Burning 450 ‘active’ calories per hour, for 5 hours each day, means that you’ll need to fuel up so as not to fall into deficit. Luckily for you, Savoyarde cuisine doesn’t shy away from calorific bombs such as cream, cheese, butter and sugar. Whilst mountain restaurants are light of what I might deem ‘healthy’ options, there are still options at some sublime restaurants. Here are my 4 top picks for slopeside lunch:

Back at Le Saint Roch, the cuisine which they deem Bistronomic, is worthy of decoration, as the hotel’s eye for detail is at work again. The truffled cashews and amuses bouche to accompany an aperitif are exquisite productions in themselves. To accommodate my pescatarian preferences, the chef re-purposed anything on the menu with deft, and rather than describe it in words, I can show you a host of images we shot. The food was, quite simply, beautifully executed.

4) SUMMARY THOUGHTS

Skiing is not cheap, and Courchevel even less so. Many places in this resort charge the wrong price, simply because they attract customers who actually prefer to overpay; Le Saint Roch is not one of those venues. It is a 5* establishment which plays to the beat of its own drum; its personality is distinctive and unique – both quietly understated and charmingly gregarious at the same time, yet always below the radar, and fabulously welcoming. It is the solution to alpine hassle, and enables you to pursue the optimal mountain break for a price which, whilst expensive in absolute terms, is inexpensive relative to almost all of the comparable hotels surrounding it, especially when one considers the sheer quality of the half-board offering here. More broadly, the village of Courchevel, being located at the pinnacle of the world’s largest ski area, is too good a draw to refuse; for those seeking an unconstrained retreat to the Alps, this is quite simply the only combination you need.